“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.”

The title to this post is a quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I think it's very appropriate. It's raining in Seattle for the first time in months. We get a bad rep up here for having too much rain, but if it were up to me it'd rain more.




I've always loved the rain. I'm not exactly sure what about it is so enticing to me. I'm sure part of it is the haphazard patter that comes as it lands upon the window. Some of it is how the air feels while water is falling, crisp and living. The biggest part of it is how great it is to just walk in the rain. It's like a baptismal.


Water has been an integral part of my life since I was born. The house that I grew up in was perched atop a cliff. When you looked out to the east there was a stunning view of Puget Sound, Vashon Island and the Olympic Mountains. I really wish that I had a picture of the view. There are many days that I still think about it.

(This isn't the exact view, it's missing the sheer drop off effect of the cliff.)

After graduating high school I went through a fair amount of social turmoil in my life. During this time I felt very lost. Whenever I had no idea what to do or where to go I'd drive down Alki and park my car near Don Armeni park and just look out across the sound and into the city. It was hypnotic how the buildings reflected their lights off the movement of the waves. The tiny pieces of light would dance between the swells in a way that seemed totally chaotic while being perfectly choreographed. It made me feel like I wasn't alone and we've been the best of friends ever since.














I don't think that I could ever live without the rain. This is why I could see myself retiring somewhere on the western slopes of the Olympics. It's lovely all year long, just not for everyone.